Things are looking at bit different around here…

This past week I’ve been feverishly learning about the The Thesis Theme for WordPress. Let me know what you think of the new look! I’m still updating the content, getting in all the pattern info etc. The cats are earning their keep — I realized that their colors were the underlying, subliminal inspiration for the color scheme.

On the knitting front: expect to see Don’t Fence Me In for sale by the end of the week! The awesome testers are nearly all done. The Adamson Mitts pattern is almost ready as well. I’m very excited by both of these patterns.

I have some other patterns ready to swatch & knit, but I really want to get started on designing some sweaters & vests. Expect a lot of twisted stitches and cables (no surprise there) with a bit of stranding for accents.

Garden tidbits: the poppies are now mostly going to seed. I’ve noticed a lot more doves in the garden; they seem to love the poppy seeds. The Salvia apiana, White Sage, is blooming. The Eriogonumgiganteum, St. Catherine’s Lace buckwheat — which has propagated all sorts of little seedlings — good thing I like the plant — is getting ready to bloom.

I harvested fava beans last week and made a pasta sauce with them. They’re delicious! Last year I didn’t know really what to do with them, so everything ended up getting composted. (I primarily plant them during the winter for their nitrogen-fixing properties, to help the soil, rather than as a crop; that is going to change!)

We have a ton of tomato volunteer seedlings which I’m letting do their thing. We also have The Tomato Plant That Wouldn’t Die, a Cherokee Purple tomato plant from last year. It’s a monster. It’s tried to bear fruit over the winter and is now finally actually starting to succeed.

LOVE the new look of the blog! You have inspired me in a whole new way! I need to add cables to something I have been playing with and you just pushed me to the right ones! Love fava beans, so post the recipe you used…please.

Well done, Stephannie! I’m preparing to launch a blog on TypePad in support of my voice studio, so I thought I’d take a look at my fb friends’ blogs. Yours is certainly the most professional & accessible one I’ve come across yet! I’m not brave enough to take on WordPress myself, so I’m really impressed with what you’ve done so far and sorry that I didn’t get to see the earlier version. Good luck!

Thanks Claudia! I never tried Typepad; I went from blogger to self hosted Wordpress. The new page I think just looks more polished & is less cluttered. I’m very happy with WordPress and VERY happy with the Thesis theme.

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